What this means
To examine within-person associations between nighttime sleep duration and mental well-being among older Chinese adults. We analyzed four waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS; 2011-2018) using individual fixed-effects linear regressions with wave fixed effects and individual-clustered standard errors.
A plain-English summary is on its way. Until then, this is the start of the authors' own summary.
- Who it was tested in
- Not stated
- Kind of research
- A study
The science
- Original title
- Sleep Duration and Mental Well-Being Among Older Chinese Adults: A Four-Wave Fixed-Effects Analysis Using CHARLS.
- Authors
- Chen Z, Wang JJ, Chen C
- Journal
- Clinical gerontologist
- Published
- Oct 20, 2026
- Study type
- Study
- PMID
- 42899484 ↗
Abstract
Background
To examine within-person associations between nighttime sleep duration and mental well-being among older Chinese adults.
What they did
We analyzed four waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS; 2011-2018) using individual fixed-effects linear regressions with wave fixed effects and individual-clustered standard errors. Outcomes were CES-D-10 depressive symptoms and reverse-coded life satisfaction. Sleep was modeled continuously and categorically, with main categories of ≤6 h, >6 to <9 h, and ≥9 h; sensitivity models used ≤ 5 h, >5 to <9 h, and ≥9 h.
What they found
Among observations with valid CES-D-10 data, 36.74% met the ≥10 screening threshold. Each additional hour of sleep was associated with lower CES-D-10 scores (β = -0.305) and higher life satisfaction (β = 0.015). Compared with the main reference range, short sleep was associated with higher CES-D-10 scores (β = 0.846) and lower life satisfaction (β = -0.046). Long-sleep estimates varied by specification and outcome. Shorter nighttime sleep duration, particularly sleep in the operational short-sleep category, was associated with poorer mental well-being within individuals over time.
Other details
Usual sleep duration can inform mood and sleep assessment but should not substitute for evaluation of sleep quality or sleep disorders.
The authors' abstract, grouped under plain headings from its own section labels.
Chen Z, Wang JJ, Chen C Sleep Duration and Mental Well-Being Among Older Chinese Adults: A Four-Wave Fixed-Effects Analysis Using CHARLS. Clinical gerontologist. 2026. doi:10.1080/07317115.2026.2741702. PMID: 42899484. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42899484/
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